Down by a Coward
by DouglasDaleray
Summary: The one thing in Dodge that no one thought would ever happen, did.


Gunfire rang outside the Dodge House and Howie was the first out the door when it was over. It was dark, and all he could see was a body lying on the dusty ground. Howie ran to the downed man saying, "Mister, hey mister," then he kneeled and touched him. "Oh my!" Howie said and put his fingers to his mouth.

By that time, a crowd had gathered and Festus came running, but paused for a second when he saw it was Matt lying there and under his breath he said, "Matthew!" Then the jolt propelled him forward yelling, "Matthew!" at the top of his lungs. That brought Kitty out of the Long Branch.

"Doc!" Festus yelled. "Somebody go get Doc!" Festus said as he approached Matt. "Matthew, can you hear me?"

Matt grunted.

"He's still alive!"

"But barely," Kitty said as she now stood beside Festus.

"Matthew, just hold on. You hear me, Matthew! Just hold on!"

There was another grunt. At least Matt could comprehend.

"Doc's coming," Newly said as he made his way.

"Well not fast enough! Come on Doc!"

"Move Festus, let me in there." Doc said as he put down his bag. "Matt, can you hear me?"

"He kin hear 'ya Doc. He ain't deaf. Just grunts is all."

"Festus, if you don't mind, leave the doctoring to me!"

"I am only tryin' t' help you onry old scudder."

"You want to help? Then Festus, you and Newly get Matt up to my office. Now!"

As they lifted Matt, he made a noise. Howie even lent them a hand. Doc just stood there rubbing his mustache. Kitty approached and hooked her arm in his and said, "Doc."

Doc turned to her and replied, "It's bad Kitty."

"How bad Doc?"

Doc just looked at her and shook his head then headed to his office. Kitty was right behind him.

Festus and Newly had Matt on Doc's table when he opened the door. Kitty came in behind him and Festus and Newly stepped aside. Doc began to examine Matt again. As soon as he had Matt's shirt cut, exposing the wounds, blood poured from them and dripped on the floor. Festus grimaced as he held on to his hat. Newly just watched. Then Doc went to digging with his tools.

While Doc was tending to Matt, just outside the limits of Dodge, Porter asked, "Well, did you get him?"

"Yeah, I got him. Dillon never knew what hit him." Lemastus told Porter as he slung his hat down on the ground beside the fire.

"So he's dead, Lemastus?"

"He didn't move after he hit the ground."

"Wow, the great marshal of Dodge City dead. I thought that day would never come," Porter said as he poured coffee into his cup. "You're gonna be famous Lemastus. Famous."

"Not looking for fame. Just revenge."

"Well, I'd say you got it."

"We can't stay here long Porter. We have to move in the morning."

"You think somebody'll come looking for us Lemastus?"

Lemastus shot Porter a look and said, "What do you think? I just killed Marshal Dillon. They'll be looking."

"But aren't you forgetting something Lemastus? No one saw us."

Lemastus turned and looked at Porter and snickered. "You know Porter, sometimes you actually do make sense. What do you say we stay in Dodge a little while. See how they function without the great Dillon around."

Porter smiled as he drank the last bit of coffee from his cup. "I knew there was a reason I was liking Dodge." Both of them mounted after that.

"Will you get these two out of here, Kitty. I can't operate with them breathing down my neck. Especially that one!" Doc said and pointed over his shoulder in Festus's direction.

"Festus, Newly, go. Let me and Doc tend to Matt." Kitty said as she moved to shoo them out of Doc's office.

"Golly bill Miss Kitty. We's just watching."

"Yeah, but you're making me nervous! Now go!"

"But Doc."

"Don't but be Festus! I mean it. You want me to save Matt don't you? Now, out!"

"Festus, please, do as Doc says. Newly?"

"Yes Miss Kitty. Come on Festus. Let's go." Newly said and grabbed Festus's arm.

Festus pulled away from Newly and said, "You don't need t' go grabbing at me like a piglet on the loose! I got two feet!"

"Well move them Festus! I'll buy you a beer at the Long Branch."

They were almost out the door when Festus paused and said, "Miss Kitty?"

Kitty turned and said, "Festus, I'll be the first one to let you know. Now go."

Festus and Newly headed out and down the stairs of Doc's office. When they reached the ground, Festus turned to Newly and said, "Fer the life of me, I can't figger how Matthew didn't know."

"Festus, there's no way Matt could have known."

"Ambushed. Matthew was ambushed. Newly, we got to do something."

"I agree, Festus, but how?"

"Buy me that beer and we'll figger something out."

Inside the Long Branch, one could hear a pin drop. The only sound was that of Sam's bar rag sliding on the counter between empty spaces of mugs. Festus and Newly looked around with blank stares as they moved toward the bar.

"Golly bill, ain't a twitch of noise in here Sam. Not even a peep."

"Well, what did you expect Festus? We've all got one thing on our minds."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. He's on mine too."

"Ours Festus, ours." Newly added.

"Say Sam, you haven't by chance, heard or seen anything funny have you?"

"No, can't say that I have. According to Howie, it was so quick. Well, so he says."

"I can't believe that no one saw anything, Sam. Nothing. You'd think someone would have."

"Newly, I've been wondering that same thing."

Then Sam looked to the doors swinging open. Lemastus and Porter strolled through, their spurs clicking on the wooden floor. They looked around. They knew why it was so quiet.

Festus turned around and stared with that crooked look with the beer in his hand. "Well ain't they two scraggly looking varmints," he said quietly so Newly could hear him.

"I'd say," Newly added.

"Two beers barkeep. And keep them coming!" Lemastus said as he and Porter sat at an empty table.

"Sure is quiet in this town. I thought Dodge was supposed to be more livelier." Lemastus said then sipped his beer that Sam had placed in front of him.

"Maybe something happened to the Marshal," Porter said and winced at what he said. Lemastus shot him a sour look.

Now what had been quiet inside the Long Branch, was now even quieter.

Festus hit Newly on the arm after that. Newly had the same look as Festus when he turned to look at Lemastus and Porter.

Sam looked up at both Festus and Newly. He backed away to Newly as Festus began to move toward the table.

"And what makes you say somethin' like that? Maybe the Marshal had business doing his marshaling outways." Festus said as he reached the table.

Lemastus and Porter immediately saw the deputy's star pinned to his shirt and became a little nervous. Just a little. It was not enough to show though.

"And if he did, I s'pose he left you in charge, seeing that you have a badge and all," Lemastus stated with a chuckle.

"I reckon he did."

"You reckon? You mean you don't know?" Porter said with a laugh that only died quickly.

"Mister, don't make me git on you like ugly on an ape! Just finish your beer and git out of here," Festus said as Miss Kitty came through the swinging doors.

She stopped and looked at Festus first, then at Newly standing by the bar with Sam on the other side. Festus glanced at her as she finally moved to Newly and Sam, sidestepping Festus and the two at the table.

"What is he doing back in Dodge?" Miss Kitty asked in the most quietest of whispers to Newly.

"You know him Miss Kitty?"

"Yeah, I know him. That's Lemastus Hastings."

"I thought he looked familiar. Marshal Dillon killed his brother right over there." Sam said with a point of his finger.

"Sure did," Kitty said. "He didn't take too kindly to it either. Looks like he finally got his revenge."

"Miss Kitty, that doesn't mean..." Newly said but she interrupted him.

"Not yet. Doc got the bullets out, but Matt is out cold. Doc said if he makes it through the night, he should be alright."

"Meaning he may not."

Kitty looked at Newly and was not able to bring a word to her mouth. She just turned to Sam and grabbed the whiskey bottle and glass.

Festus walked back over between Kitty and Newly and said, "He's the one that shot Matthew," then finished his beer.

"Now Festus, really?"

"Miss Kitty, I ain't lying. I'm as sure as I am as my left pinky is attached to my left arm."

"Hand Festus, left hand."

Miss Kitty snickered at Newly after he said that and Festus lifted his eyebrow and looked at Newly and said, "Smart aleck!"

But no one was snickering when Doc walked inside. They all eyed Doc and knew that look he had.

"I should have known it was you! You have the nerve to come back here after what happened to your brother? After Matt told you to never come back?"

"Watch it sawbones!" Lemastus said as he pushed the chair back a little.

"Don't tell me to watch it!"

"Doc!" Festus said and went to go over but both Kitty and Newly grabbed him.

"Sawbones, you're treading on light water. I'd step back if I were you."

"I'm staying right where I am! You don't scare me. You're just like your brother. Only a coward would kill a man by shooting him in the back!"

"You did get Dillon, Lemastus! See, I told you you'd be famous!"

Every head in the Long Branch that knew Matt was now hung low. Kitty started to cry. Festus and Newly were more in shock and could not move. Sam was beside Miss Kitty consoling her the best he could.

"Porter, I wish sometimes you'd keep that big trap shut!"

"Shut huh? Why I never..." Porter said as he stood and went for his gun but never got a chance to pull it. Lemastus pulled his first and Porter landed on the floor with a thud.

"First man you ever killed not facing his back?" Doc said.

"You just won't listen will you sawbones?" Lemastus said and went to pull the trigger.

Instead, it was Lemastus that fell to the floor.

Doc looked up after Lemastus hit the floor and saw the barrel of Festus's gun smoking. He stepped over Lemastus and on his way over to the bar he said, "Will someone get these two out of here! Cowards shouldn't be dirtying the floor of this establishment!"

Four other Dodge-goers did as Doc said and took them out the door.

"You can quit crying now Kitty. Matt's fine." Doc said as he grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured.

"But Doc, you just said."

"I know what I just said Festus! I said it on purpose."

"Doc, you mean you come in here and make all of us think Matt died?"

"That's precisely what I did, Kitty. On his orders."

"On his orders? Doc, is Matt wake?"

"Well Kitty, I wouldn't be standing here if he wasn't. Howie's up there with him now."

Kitty did not hesitate. She was out the door before anyone could blink.

"But Doc, how'd Matthew knowed t' tell you who done it?" Festus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Matt saw Lemastus in town earlier in the day. Told him to leave town. Again. Matt had a sneaky feeling he hadn't, so he told me to come down to the Long Branch to check."

"Well, he sure did know how to listen."

"Newly, he didn't listen then and he didn't listen now."

"Now he won't ever be listening again."

"You took a huge chance coming in here Doc. Almost got yourself killed."

"Well, thanks to Festus, I didn't," Doc said and took the last sip of his whiskey.

Festus stood beside Doc just staring and grinning at him. Doc turned and saw him and said, "What are you staring at?"

"You onry ol' scudder. Don't 'preciate nothing. Dontcha see, I just saved yer life!"

"I said thanks, too, didn't I? And there, I said it again!" Doc said and with a smirk and a wink at Sam, Doc turned to walk to the door. But nobody followed.

Doc stopped before he reached the swinging doors and turned back around and said, "Well, are you two coming? I think someone is waiting to see you."

Festus and Newly both looked at each other and smiled then high-stepped it to exit with Doc to the stairs that lead to where Matt waited.

When Doc opened the door, there stood Kitty beside a smiling Matt. His friends had saved his life.


End file.
